Cultivator



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1. S. S. GERRISH.

OULTIVATOR.

No. 485,271. Patented Nov. 1, 1892.

/ l I "a (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

S. S. GERRISH.

GULTIVATOR.

No. 485,271. Patented Nov. 1, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL S. GERRISH, OF VILSONVILLE, NEBRASKA.

C U LT NAT R SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 485,271,dated November 1, 1892. Application filed July 6, 1892. Serial110.439.119. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL S. GERRISH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Wilsonville, in the county of Furnas and State of Nebraska,have in vented a new and useful Corn-Cultivator, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in corncultivators, and of thatclass employed to cultivate simultaneously several rows of corn.

The objects and advantages of my invention, together with'the novelfeatures thereof, will hereinafter appear, and be particularly pointedout in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a rear perspective view of acultivator embodylng my invention. Fig. 2 is a front perspective view,parts being broken away and the wheels removed. Fig. 3 is a detail, insectional View, of the joint employed between the front ends of thebeams and stirrups. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal sectional View ofthe cultivator. Fig. 5 is a detail of a pair of cultivator-beamsemployed.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures of thedrawings.

1 designates an arched axle, the extremities of which are provided withdepressed bearings 2, which carry ground-wheels 3 transversely oppositeeach other. A front crossbar 4: is connected to the axle 1 through themedium of connecting-bars 5 and a drafttongue 6. A standard 7 extendsrearward from the draft-tongue and supports a seat 8 for theaccommodation of the driver, who is thus in rear of the machine, and, aswill hereinafter appear, thereby has full control of the cultivatingmechanism carried by the machine.

From the cross-bar 4 depends a series of (in this instance four)U-shaped stirrups 9, the upper ends of which are laterally bentinopposite directions and perforated, forming securing-plates 10. Atintervals the cross-bar 4 is provided with perforations or bolt-holes11, and into the pairs of these holes and through the perforatedsecuring-plates of the stirrups securing-bolts 12 are passed. By

placing these bolts in various pairs of per-' forations the stirrups maybe adjusted difierent distances apart, all for a purpose hereinafter tobe described. Cross-bars 13 connect the opposite terminals of eachstirrup, near the lower end thereof, and these crossbars and the bottomsof the stirrups, which latter are transversely disposed, are perforatedat their centers and receive the pintles 15, located at the front endsof and serving to pivotally connect a series of pairs ofcultivator-beams 16, which beams vary in lengththat is to say, the twoinner beams of an adjacent pair are shorter. Each beam carries a shovel17, and each pair of beams is spaced apart by transverse braces orspace-blocks 1S. Olevises 19 are located at the front ends of the beams,and the same are pivoted to the pintleplates before mentioned, asindicated at 20. From each pair of beams depends avertical standard 21,and the same carries an advance trash-clearing shovel 22, which travelsahead of the pairs of cultivator-shovels, as shown. Inverted-U-shapedframes 23 have their terminals secured to the opposite space-blocks ofthe adjacent pairs of shovel-standards, and said frames are formed insections, the upper ends of which overlap, are provided with adjustingbolt-holes and connected by bolts 24. Ropes or cables 25 are connectedto the frames, pass over pulleys 26, journaled in the upper ends ofstandards 27, which rise from the axle, and have their front endsconnected to a pair of levers 28, which are pivoted at 29 to the underside of the cross-bar 4. in advance of the axle and extend rearwardunder the same, terminatingin feet-receiving stirrups 30 at each side ofthe standard 7, that supports the seat for the driver. It will beobvious that the driver by placing his feet in these stirrups anddepressing the levers may raise and lower the series of standardsandtheir shovels, and by moving the levers laterally into notches 31,formed in the inner edges of depending locking-bars 32, secured to theunder side of the axle, the said cultivator-standards may be maintainedelevated a desired height from the ground. From the opposite sections ofthe pair of inverted-U- shaped frames standards 33 depend, whichstandards are connected adjustably at their upper ends to the frames bymeans of bolts 34, for the reception of which the standards areperforated. The lower ends of these standards are secured toinverted-U-shaped slotted fenders 35, which fenders are located betweenthe pair of. cultivators and are intended to serve their usual purposeof shielding the young corn during the process of'cultivation.Feet-receiving stirrups 36 are located upon the inner pairs ofstandards, and the driver, sitting upon the seat, may place his feet inthe stirrups, and thus guide the cultivator-shovels when the machine isbeing turned around.

37 designates an evener-bar, which is pivoted at its center to thetongue 6, as indicated at 38, in advance of the axle. This evenerbar hasloosely connected to its ends doubletrees 39, and from the ends of eachdoubletree depend bars 40, which have their lower ends connected bylinks 41 with the lower ends of the front stirrups 9 and theircrossbars. To the depending bars singletrees to the number of four areconnected, the same being indicated as 51, and to these the draftanimalsare hitched. It will thus be seen I that each animal is located in frontof one of the stirrups 9 and pair of cultivators and that by thearrangement of eveners the draft is evenly divided, as will be evident.As the machine moves along, the oultivators having been lowered by thedriver, it will be seen that it straddles three rows of corn, thecultivators working the soil at the two outside rows, leaving the middlerow to be cultivated on the return trip.

The trash-clearers in advance of the cultivators may or may not beemployed, they being detachable; but when employed they serve to clearaway the accumulations of trash that gather in between the corn-rows.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a machine of theclass described, the combination, with the transverse axle, thecross-bar in front of the same, a series of perforations in thecross-bar, and connections between the cross-bar and axle, of a seriesof depending U-shaped stirrups having their upper ends bent to formsecuring-plates, bolts for adj ustably connecting the stirrups to thecross-bar, a draft-pole extending forwardly from the cross-bar, a seriesof cultivator-beams loosely connected to the stirrups, an equalizing-barpivoted on the draft-bar, doubletrees pivoted to the ends of theequalizing-bar, rods loosely depending from the ends of the doubletreesopposite the stirrups, connections between the lower ends of the rodsand the stirrups, and singletrees loosely connected to the dependingbars, substantially as specified.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination, with thetransverse axle, the ground-wheels, the transverse cross-bar connectedwith the axle, the draft-pole projecting forwardly from the cross-bar,and the series of depending U-shaped stirrups secured to the cross-bar,of the equalizing-bar pivoted to the pole, the doubletrees pivoted tothe ends of the equalizing-bar, singletrees carried by the doubletrees,connections between the same and the stirrups, and a series ofcultivator-beams loosely connected at their front ends to the stirrups,substantially as specified.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination,with theframework and the series of depending U-shaped stirrups, of adraft-equalizer located on the framework in advance of the stirrups,doubletrees carried by the equalizer, singletrees carrying rodsdepending from the ends of the doubletrees, connections between the sameat their lower ends and those of the stirrups, and cultivatorbeamsconnected loosely at their front ends to the said stirrups,substantially as specified.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination, with theframework and the series of cultivator-beams, of means for adjustablyconnecting the front ends of the cultivator-beams to the front of theframework, pulley-carrying standards rising from the framework, oppositepairs of inverted- U shaped sectional frames having their upper endsoverlapping, perforated, and adj ustably connected and their lower endsconnected to the cultivator-beams, ropes connected to the upper ends oftheframes and passed over the pulleys, and levers pivoted at their frontends to the frame, located between the frames, connected to the ropes,and adapted for locking, substantially as specified.

5. In a machine of the class described the combination,with theframework, the supporting-wheels, the series of pairs of shovel-carryingcultivator -beams, and means for adjustably connecting the same at theirfront ends, of the inverted-U-shaped beam suspension-frames overlappingat their inner ends and formed in sections, the upper ends of which areperforated and adj ustably connected by bolts and the lower ends ofwhich are adjustably connected to the beams,- means for raising andlowering the suspensionbeams, straps adjustably connected to the frames,and fenders located between the outer pairs of beams and connected tothe lower ends of the straps, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afliixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL S. GERRISH.

Witnesses:

G. H. PIERCE, W. P. PIERCE.

